Weekly Digest, Week 24 / 2026

Death metal dominates this week, but stays flexible enough to offer some variety, featuring Fires In The Distance, Fleshcrawl, Goetia, Goreworm and Thorium.

If you want to escape the morbidity, head for higher ground:

Khemmis – Khemmis (heavy/doom metal)

Stitched Up Heart – Medusa (alternative metal)

Tarja – Frisson Noir (symphonic metal/rock)

---

TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

Fires In The Distance – Circadian Promise

Genre: Melodic death/doom metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4.5/5

Country of origin: USA

Fires in the Distance have managed to earn a spot as one of my absolute favorite bands, with 2023's "Air Not Meant for Us" firmly cementing this position, being my top album of that year. Now they're back with a new vocalist/guitarist, but still very much the dreamy-melodic approach to their atmospherically rich, Insomnium-style death doom. New to their repertoire are sparsely-used clean vocals, which, in the face of some immediate skepticism, suit their sound very well, and are executed with fitting emotional restraint.

My main issue actually turns out to be the harsh vocals. While the addition of black metal-style screeches and Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity)-style high pitched rasps is welcome, the lack of throaty, low growls is indeed felt. And while their previous albums were by no means "effective" in pacing, I find myself missing a measure of grandeur and force this time around, both in the heavy and more serene parts. The latter of which regularly take on a slightly simplified, gothic feel that make the dips in energy more profound. All that (mostly subjective) nitpicking aside though, this is a masterfully composed album that flows beautifully, and manages bigger contrasts than its predecessors. Its emotionally potent, somber melodies mesh effortlessly with the heaviness, and are at most times completely engrossing.

Highlights: "Of Radiance and Levitation" and "Agonal Dreaming"

---

Fleshcrawl – Epitome Of Carnage

Genre: Death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Germany

Time again for me to learn about a long-going German underground extreme metal band that I've never heard of before. Fleshcrawl got started under its current name all the way back in 1991, and had quite the release streak leading up to 2007. Since then they've had a comeback album in 2019, that hasn't been followed up until now. For those also uninitiated, this is Entombed-school crunchy death metal, the like of which fellow countrymen Endseeker are more actively championing these days.

Fleshcrawl play a musty, no-frills iteration of the sound. Any vestiges of melody are scaled back and uniformly sinister, and the band seem almost unwilling to let loose the groove, although when they do, it hits like it should. The album is full of treats for fans of both the band and the subgenre in general, but isn't free from filler, which pushes the runtime unnecessarily to a near 48-minute duration. Also, I'm pretty suspicious of that album cover. Still, a real heavyweight of an album that's strictly focused on what it does best.

Highlight: "Blood Dominion"

---

Goetia – Mortuary Cult

Genre: Death metal/hardcore

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: USA

This is the untamed, unpolished, unmuffled roar of the underground right here. Goetia are a band from the US capital that play a furious, back-to-basics form of death metal powered by hardcore and grindcore spite and relentlessness. Being their debut full-length, they fire on all cylinders, and apart from the odd Sabbath-style, spooky-doom mood-setter-section, it's a non-stop chase by the ravenous undead.

This has all the charging drum work, snarling vocals and shredding you would hope for, and more. The production makes it sound a bit like it's all taking place inside a heavy canvas sack where the bottom's about to fall out, but I'd almost be disappointed if it wasn't a bit ragged. I think the whole is stronger than the individual standout moments, but it's a heck of a statement for a debut.

Highlight: "Lanterns of the Dead"

---

Goreworm – Miasmic Solitude

Genre: Technical death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Canada

This is one of those albums where the cover makes it hard to dislike even before you've listened to a single note (that is, unless you suffer from severe arachnophobia). What becomes immediately apparent as this monstrosity starts playing is that they've gone for a fairly lean production, favoring vocals and the higher pitched ends of the instrumental performances. This really highlights the precision of the band, the melodic nuances and the inventive rhythm gymnastics.

The unfortunate thing about said production is that it's fairly uneven. At times the riffs and drums feel deeply buried in the murk, and much of the low end heft is lost, lessening the impact. Then, at later points, the punchiness returns and it feels like a proper beast again. It doesn't have the smoothest flow, but makes up for it with distinctiveness. It's a band that clearly want to leave a mark, and they're certainly heading in the right direction.

Highlight: "The Enthralling Grave"

---

Thorium – Suburban Rot

Genre: Death metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Denmark

Danish death metallers Thorium are back and once again trying something slightly new. I first discovered these gents with their 2022 release "Danmark", and it turned out to be a great introduction to the band, packed as it was with meaty riffs and morbid grooves. 2024's  "The Bastard" offered a slightly different guitar tone (possibly influenced by guest composer Rogga Johansson), greater atmospheric depth and more varied songwriting.

"Suburban Rot" sees the bang going for a more muted, lurking approach. It's not lacking in rumbling riff charges, but the overall tempo is down, to the point where some of the engagement factor is lost. They make up for it with some really strong highlight tracks, and overall they strike a good balance between straightforward, old school savagery and more exploratory, doomy shifts in rhythm approach.

Highlight: "MG42"

---

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Bloodhunter – Sons Of The Abandoned

Genre: Melodic death metal

Country of origin: Spain

Boarzoy – The Great Fires

Genre: Experimental sludge metal/hardcore

Country of origin: USA

Nuclear Tomb – Epoch Inhumane

Genre: Experimental thrash/death metal

Country of origin: USA

Soulburn – Quantifying Cosmic Doom

Genre: Blackened doom metal

Country of origin: Netherlands

Stormkeep – The Nocturnes Of Iswylm

Genre: Melodic black metal

Country of origin: USA